Albatros D.I

Infobox Aircraft
name=Albatros D.I


caption=
type=Fighter
manufacturer=Albatros Flugzeugwerke
designer=Robert Thelen
first flight=
introduced= 1916
retired=
status=
primary user= Germany
more users=
produced=
number built= 50
variants with their own articles=

The Albatros D.I was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. Although its operational career was short, it was the first of the Albatros D types which formed the bulk of the German and Austrian fighter squadrons for the last two years of the war.

Design and development

The D.I was designed by Robert Thelen, R. Schubert and Gnädig, as an answer to the latest Allied fighters, such as the Nieuport 11 "Bébé" and the Airco D.H.2, which had proved superior to the Fokker "Eindecker" and other early German fighters, and established a general Allied air superiority. It was ordered in June 1916 and introduced into squadron service that August.

The D.I used a plywood semi-monocoque fuselage, which was lighter and stronger than the fabric-skinned box-type fuselage then in common use, as well being easier to give an aerodynamically clean shape. It was powered by either a 150 hp Benz Bz.III or a 160 hp Mercedes D.III six-cylinder watercooled inline engine. The D.I thus became the most powerful fighter aircraft yet introduced by the German Air Force. The additional power enabled twin fixed Spandau machineguns to be fitted without any loss in performance.Gray and Thetford 1970 ]

The D.I had a relatively high wing loading for its time, and was not particularly manoeuvrable. This was compensated by its superior speed and firepower, and it quickly proved the best all-round fighter available.

Operational history

A total of 50 pre-series and series D.I aircraft were in service by November 1916, replacing the early Fokker and Halberstadt D types, giving real "teeth" to the new "Jagdstaffeln" (fighter squadrons). Further production of D.Is was not undertaken, however; instead, a reduction in the gap between the top and bottom planes in order to improve the pilot's forward and upward vision resulted in the otherwise identical Albatros D.II, which became Albatros' first major production fighter.

Operators

;flag|German Empire
*"Luftstreitkräfte"

pecifications (D.I)

aerospecs
met or eng?= met

crew=one pilot
capacity=
length m=7.40
length ft=23
length in=3.5
span m=8.50
span ft=27
span in=11
dia m=
dia ft=
dia in=
height m=2.95
height ft=9
height in=8
wing area sqm=22.9
wing area sqft=247
rot area sqm=
rot area sqft=
aspect ratio=
empty weight kg=645
empty weight lb=1,422
gross weight kg=898
gross weight lb=1,809

eng1 number=1
eng1 type=Benz Bz.III
eng1 kW= 112
eng1 hp= 150
eng1 kn=
eng1 lbf=
eng1 kn-ab=
eng1 lbf-ab=
eng2 number=
eng2 type=
eng2 kW=
eng2 hp=
eng2 kn=
eng2 lbf=
eng2 kn-ab=
eng2 lbf-ab=

max speed kmh=175
max speed mph=110
range km=
range miles=
endurance h= 1.5
endurance min=
ceiling m=3,000
ceiling ft=9,840
glide ratio=
climb rate ms=2.8
climb rate ftmin=547
sink rate ms=
sink rate ftmin=

armament1=2 × forward-firing 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 machine guns
armament2=
armament3=
armament4=
armament5=
armament6=

ee also

aircontent

related=
*Albatros D.II

similar aircraft=
*Nieuport 11

lists=

see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Gray, Peter, and Thetford, Owen. "German Aircraft of the First World War". London: Putnam & Co Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-370-00103-6.
* Taylor, John W.R. "Albatros D.I and D.II". "Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present". New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.